The North American Soccer League has approved a franchise for San Antonio, to begin play in the 2012 season.

Published 3:11 pm, Monday, October 4, 2010

Local businessman Gordon Hartman will be the primary owner of the NASL soccer team that will begin play in 2012.

Local businessman Gordon Hartman will be the primary owner of the NASL soccer team that will begin play in 2012.

S.A. gets professional soccer team

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The North American Soccer League has approved a franchise for San Antonio, to begin play in the 2012 season. The team, to be named, will be primarily owned by businessman Gordon Hartman and play at his 14-field South Texas Area Regional Soccer Complex.

The announcement caps a months-long effort by Hartman to secure a pro team to anchor his STAR facility and provide a further financial stream to support the adjacent Morgan's Wonderland for children with special needs.

"Two reasons I got involved in this is there is a market here for soccer and we wanted to structure a place that allows for us to have a soccer team in San Antonio that can aggressively help Morgan's Wonderland," Hartman said.

Aaron Davidson, CEO of the NASL, said today that San Antonio has been awarded an expansion franchise in the league. The NASL last month submitted its application to the U.S. Soccer Federation to officially become the only second-division pro soccer league in the United States.

"We're about as excited as can be," Davidson said from his Miami office. "This is a unique opportunity to continue to grow soccer in the United States. We're a league that's going to develop teams at the highest of levels."

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A purchase price for the new franchise was not revealed. Hartman, who has worked with DAO Sports and Entertainment in securing the team, will work over the next year to solicit funds to expand his STAR complex to include a stadium to accommodate the new team.

How this impacts Spurs Sports & Entertainment's efforts to secure a pro soccer team in San Antonio is unclear. Leo Gomez, vice-president of public affairs for the organization, declined to comment on the NASL's announcement.

The Spurs reportedly have had discussions with the San Antonio ISD about locating a ballclub at Alamo Stadium, should a bond issue to be voted on next month pass. Those bonds would be used, in part, to upgrade the historic stadium.

Both sides have denied that any planned partnership is in place.

"We are focused on supporting SAISD with its bond issue and have committed to not discussing soccer until sometime after the election," Gomez said today.

According to the NASL website, the San Antonio team would be the 12th in its fold.

During the current season, the U.S. Soccer Federation is overseeing a hybrid league that includes a dozen total teams from the NASL and rival United Soccer League.

FC Edmonton, which became a member of the NASL in November, will begin play in April of next year.

By giving the new teams "at least one season's lead time," Davidson said, "we give the NASL and our teams the necessary time to prepare and launch successfully."